This part
of our website gives some idea of everyday life for children who went to
local schools in the later years of
Queen Victoria's long reign.
They use entries from the official Log Books
or diaries of local schools. Although some schools were opened at much earlier
dates, official records did not have to be kept by most until 1863, and
many of the oldest have not survived.
The Log Books can often tell us quite a lot about home life in those times
as well as about the routine of the school itself.
The children from poor families
had to go to work as soon as they were old enough to bring extra
income, and often missed lessons to help with farm and other jobs for their
parents.